


Justification Doesn't Go As Far As It Should These Days

by HerenorThereNearnorFar



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Family, Gen, Judgemental Stickers, Little Resolution, Lots of Thinking, Probably Set Just Before Dipper and Mabel Versus the Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-03
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-24 13:18:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4921126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerenorThereNearnorFar/pseuds/HerenorThereNearnorFar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ford and Mabel have a talk and it goes only slightly better than it could have. Really, it doesn't go well at all. Good Lord, Stanford, get over your trust issues, you're doing serious psychological damage to children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Justification Doesn't Go As Far As It Should These Days

**Author's Note:**

> It's one in the morning and I think I finally have some sort of grip on these character's voices. The summary will be doubtless be edited when I can think coherently again. In any case, Stanford and Mabel, the two coolest characters who won't give us adorable shenanigans for unfortunate characters reasons. In any case, good show, good characters, hope I didn't do too terribly. Absolutely unedited, I take full responsibility for the inevitable grammatical mistakes.

"Dipper?" Ford called, peering around the kitchen door. He was on a schedule, the sort that involved countdowns, and so far he hadn't been able to find his great nephew anywhere. 

Mabel looked up from the drawing she was doing, even across the room Ford could already make out a flower motif. A few decades wandering far flung dimensions tended to make one very good at pattern recognition. "He's not here, Grunkle Ford."

"Ah." Ford stepped into the room, aware that it was good manners to at least be in the same vicinity as the person you were talking to. "Do you know when he'll be back?" 

Mabel's brow furrowed in thought. "Hard to tell. Wendy said they wouldn't be home until at least seven, that's why I couldn't go. And Grunkle Stan doesn't let us stay out past eleven unless we bring him back donuts, so maybe four hours? Six, tops."

Wendy, the red haired young woman he had seen hanging around Stan's little side show. They'd had precisely one conversation, which had mostly consisted of her asking if he was really 'Mr. Pines' secret long lost twin or whatever'. When he had said yes, her reply had been that it was pretty cool, you know? This and the fact that she looked at least seventeen made Ford question exactly what Dipper was doing in her company. 

When he didn't reply immediately Mabel continued. "I would have gone with them, we were going to swing by the Valentino's- they have the best jokes- and then Nate and I were thinking about trying to catch a bunny to be friends with Waddles, except then Grenda wanted to come over for a sleepover so I told them to go without me. Then as soon as I did Grenda had to cancel, because her grandma is sick. So I'm making a get well card." 

Up close he could indeed read words amid the flowers and butterflies. It ordered the reader to 'Feel better soon! These flowers won't die, so you shouldn't either!'

Despite the technically upbeat message of her creation, Mabel looked upset. Distraught little girls weren't a subject matter Ford had much experience with. And the more he lingered the higher the chance of something going devastatingly wrong in the basement got. On the other hand... while Mabel and he hadn't talked much she seemed like a bright girl. And her hands were just as small as her brothers, maybe even more so. 

"Mabel, would you like to help me with something? I'm afraid I find myself somewhat in need of a lab assistant. Just temporarily, of course."

It was hard to miss the hesitant smile that flickered over her face, quickly replaced by another emotion. Suspicion? Worry? It looked out of place on a child's features. It made her look much more like Dipper, a little too careworn, a little too quiet. Like Ford had been at their age. 

"Are you sure?" she asked. "I'm not very good at science, not like Dipper. I'm the charming twin." she grinned and added one last flourish to her card before sliding out of her chair and looking up at Ford. 

'I'm the charming twin.' he could practically hear that in Stanley's voice. On the other hand he could also practically hear his work tearing itself to pieces in his lab. "Positive." Ford said. "Come on, we don't have much time."

 

 

Mabel was appropriately awed as Ford let her into the lab. 

"It looks different than the last time we were here." She observed once she had spun around a few times, taking in everything. "You took down that portal."

"It was too dangerous to leave intact." Ford said absently. Behind the glass, in the middle of what had once been the portal room, a complicated machine, maybe four feet square, was making alarming fizzling noises and sending up multi-colored sparks. 

"And you made something new to replace it." Mabel continued. "Does everything you build glow rainbow when it's done? If so, I approve."

"Believe me, those colors are not part of it's design." Ford said. "I built it to help me with... an ongoing project. But it malfunctioned. It's not safe to approach it directly, and the remote operating system is broken. I need someone with hands small enough to help me fix it." As he spoke he pulled out his supplies, and piled them on on the counter where assorted machinery was already stacked. 

His niece nodded and stood- a lab perfect safe distance he noted, close enough to help but not close enough to get in the way or be in danger if there were any mild spontaneous combustion- next to his growing heap of tools. "You backed the right horse then, buster. My hands are the tiniest."

He could hear a slowly rising whine coming from behind him, never a good sign, but Ford still found himself smiling. "I'm glad to hear it. Now, these gloves are too big for you, so you'll have to try to keep them pulled tight at the wrist... hairbands will work, yes. If you can hold this very still while I work, only drop it if it starts hurting you. It might beep and flash a little, but that's normal."

 

 

They managed to get the remote operating system back online quickly, with Mabel proving herself quite competent when it came to maneuvering tiny wires. She chalked it up to lots of crafts practice, Ford personally thought his own rapidly degrading hand eye coordination wasn't exactly helping. Either way, provided he watched it carefully over the next few hours, making the necessary adjustments to pull it back down from meltdown, it looked like the experimental rift stabilizer could be neutralized. The fact that it was a complete failure was an issue for another day, at the moment he was mostly just thrilled to have a the immediate disaster averted. When Ford turned away from the first stage of the dismantlement, he was a little surprised to find Mabel right where he had left her, perched on the counter and braiding some leftover scraps of copper wiring. 

She looked so absorbed he was even more surprised when she spoke. 

"Is it all fixed now?"

"Not exactly all fixed." Ford replied. "But it's significantly better than it was a half an hour ago."

"Is all this what you've been doing with Dipper?"

Ford glanced at the picture of the twins, the one Stan had left, and he had kept because it was good to have a reminder of what was at stake if he screwed up anymore. "No, he's been helping me with research."

It was best to keep things quiet. Even letting Dipper in on his secrets had been a risk. Mabel always had her little friends in and out of the shack, talking about everything and anything. It would be too easy for her to let something slip, too easy for Bill to use her. 

The fact that by that logic he had already put her brother in danger, he quickly glossed over. 

Mabel finished up her little wire project with a stiff knot and placed it carefully in her pocket. "What have you been researching? More magical stuff to put in your journals?"

"Not exactly." Ford hedged. 

"You say not exactly a lot." Mabel complained. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so."

Ford peeled of his gloves, anxious for something to do with his hands. "It's probably better if you don't know. For your own sake."

In front of Ford the rift stabilizer had stopped sparking, although it was still making noises and the glow hadn't completely died away yet. Based on the readings it was still cooling down, he'd need to get it near room temperature before he could move onto the next step. Behind him he could hear Mabel's slightly shaky breathing, the hurt in her voice as she said, "Except Dipper gets to know. You trust him."

Trust no one, Ford reminded himself. If only to protect them. "Your brother has been a big help with my work. But believe me, if I could afford to leave both of you children out of it completely, I would. What I'm doing, it's dangerous."

"This entire town is dangerous." Mabel informed him. She had been so happy when Ford had first met her, delighted by things that would have fazed anyone else. She had seemed like such a sweet, brave girl, the sort of kid he would have wanted to have, if things had worked out differently. Now, just weeks later, she sounded lost. "And that used to be okay. It was sort of fun, like an adventure, and me and Dipper were working together. No matter what, I knew I had my brother. Now he's always hanging out with you. And Grunkle Stan doesn't like you, and you don't like him. No one will tell me what's going on, not even my own twin. Grunkle Ford, I don't think you're a bad guy, but I don't want to lose Dipper."

Ford froze. When it came down to it, who did want to lose their sibling? He hadn't, it had just happened. Looking back now it was so much harder to assign blame than it had been at the time. It was all a blur of mistakes and the sort of silence louder than any accusation. He wouldn't have wished it on his worst enemy, a statement made easier by the fact that he didn't think Cipher actually had any family. 

"Mabel," he started, faltered, and began again. "Sweetheart, sometimes different people are just ready for different things at different times. When your Grunkle Stan and I were young he was always much better at talking to girls, at talking to anyone, really. That didn't mean he was better or worse, and it didn't mean we weren't related all of a sudden. It just meant we were good at different things. We had different strengths to play to. Your brother has been helping not because I'm trying to tear the two of you apart, or because I like him better than you, but just because you have different talents. That's all. Soon the summer will be over and you can both go home, and everything will be better. In the meantime, you just need to trust me."

She had a surprisingly good look of blank resignation for a twelve year old. "Great Uncle Ford, I'm not sure you and Grunkle Stan are a good comparison to make. I kind of have to trust you, but I really wish you would tell me things. I can be helpful too, if you did."

"I still think you're better of not knowing." Ford said, trying not to let her comment about him and Stanley sting. It was accurate, after all. She was quick, and under other circumstances probably would have been a delight to have around. But he wasn't exposing anymore children to Bill than absolutely necessary, it would have been better if even Dipper had never found out.

She took it better than he would have thought, just squared her shoulders stoically and said. "Guess I can't make you tell me. Do you need help with anything else?"

"I'm good. You should probably head back upstairs before your uncle misses you." He didn't want to think of Stan getting angry with him for dragging the children into more danger. "You don't need to get me for dinner either." he added. This project would take up most of the night. Then, even though it would be wildly unsafe to leave the room at this juncture, he added. "Do you need me to show you the way back up?"

"Nah, I'm good." Mabel smiled. "Thanks for letting me help you, Grunkle Ford." She reached up and patted the lapel of his trench coat. "See you later!"

After she scampered out it was almost too quiet, as if her mere presence had been an undercurrent of noise, and it's absence made Ford's thoughts and the hiss of slowly cooling metal eerily loud. He couldn't help but think that he had made a terrible mistake, a conclusion not helped by the sticker Mabel had slapped onto his coat as she had left. If he looked down he could see a shiny red star with a wide smile yelling to the world that "You Tried!" 

Of all the stickers, he had to get the passive aggressively judgmental one. He left it on anyways.


End file.
